Not many vehicles can have had as many incarnations as the Land Rover Defender - a vehicle which is at home in a battlezone as it is selling ice cream.

Land Rover’s legendary off-roader has been put to all manner of uses over the years since the original Series I Land Rover was launched in 1948.

Beloved by farmers, the rich and famous, the police, the military and the country set - there have even been amphibious versions produced to take to the water and it has starred in several cinematic blockbusters.

A special celebration to mark the end of production saw a parade of vehicles make its way around the road network at the Lode Lane factory.

The included Huey’ the first Land Rover ever made to the specially adapted Defender created for the Lara Croft Tomb Raider film.

As well as being renowned for being the consummate go anywhere off-roader and one of the best recognised vehicles in the world the Defender also lent itself splendidly to modification and adaptation.

The specially adapted Land Rover Defender used in the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Favoured by police forces and the military throughout the world, armoured Defenders were used in everything from riots to the frontline in war zones.

Here we take a look at the diversity of Defenders created over the years and some of the more quirky and unusual ones.

The original Land Rover was the brainchild of Maurice Wilks, Rover’s chief engineer, who famously sketched his original design in the sand on an Anglesey beach for his brother Spencer, who was managing director of the Rover Company.

It was created as part of a drive to get British car manufacturing moving again in the wake of the Second World War.

A Land Rover Series II ice cream van

Launched at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show, the idea was based on the US Army’s Willys Jeep, a multi-purpose vehicle used by the Allies during the war.

The Defender had a raft of famous owners - including the Queen, Sir Winston Churchill and Steve McQueen.